Should Auld Species Be Forgot?

The new year is a time for looking back and a time for looking ahead. Oh, I know I’m a couple weeks late, but there’s rarely a bad time for introspection, is there? What I’m looking back at today are the things our human family has irretrievably lost: the many species that have been declared extinct in 2011. I’m looking ahead to what we might lose next if we don’t do something about it.

The late Douglas Adams, most famous for writing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, really woke me to the cause of species conservation. In 1989, he worked together with photographer and conservationist Mark Carwardine for a BBC radio series, which also became a book (published in 1990). It documents their journey to see some of the world’s most critically endangered species, while they were still around.

I read the book in 2006 and wondered at the time if some of the species Adams discussed in the book had already disappeared since its publication. The next year I read a news report that the Yangtse River Dolphin, one of the less hopeful cases Adams had documented (since the Chinese government was making no conservation efforts), had just been declared extinct.

The Yangtze River Dolphin was the first aquatic mammal to become extinct since the 1950s. (Image credit: Alessio Marrucci via Wikimedia Commons.)

On the other hand, the funny flightless parrot, the Kakapo, has not only held on but has become a symbol of wildlife conservation in New Zealand. Efforts in the 20 years since Adams’ books was published have preserved the 100 or so individuals and even grown the population ever so slightly.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has compiled data on endangered species for more than 60 years. The famed IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the go-to source for every story on species loss. Fact is, it’s woefully incomplete. With over 30,000 species disappearing every year, many are gone before they’ve even been catalogued. We literally don’t know what we’re missing.

Perhaps more to the point, what do we stand to lose next? Here’s a small selection from the 2011 IUCN photo gallery of critically endangered species.

The San Jose Brush Rabbit, found on San Jose Island in Mexico was uplisted to critically endangered in 2011. Feral cats, human disturbance and habitat loss have caused populations to continuously plummet.

The European Mink used to be an incredibly common species across the continent. But, as the Passenger Pigeon showed us, even the most widespread species isn’t immune to extinction. The European Mink is on the brink.

As a child I was obsessed with recent human-caused extinctions, particularly of megafauna. Ten thousand years ago, our ancestors lived in a different world, one that has been denied us. The Moa, a massive bird wiped out by New Zealand hunter-gatherers a few centuries ago, was such a beast. The little-known Great Indian Bustard is small in comparison. But at 15 kg, it’s one of the larger and more magnificent birds still around, and there are very few of them left.

The Bog Turtle, found in the Eastern United States, is a protected species, but is more and more popular as a pet the rarer it gets. At this rate, the last surviving members of the species could die alone in individual pet store tanks before anyone realizes there’s no breeding population left.

It’s not only animals that can become extinct. We are also losing plants every day. The Chinese Water Fir is suspected of being extirpated from China, and surviving populations in Vietnam and Laos are also critically endangered from the same causes that wiped out the Chinese population: primarily agricultural clearing and logging.

I could rewrite this post a dozen times and list completely different species each time without breaking a sweat. It’s frankly a bit overwhelming to grasp how much we’re losing on a daily basis. News headlines speak of cloning mammoths (and don’t get me wrong, I read these speculations with as much interest as anyone), but it’s small consolation for the immense loss we’ve experienced in recent decades.

It can be difficult to allocate funds to causes with so many pressing issues screaming for attention at once: climate change, human rights, disaster relief. Species and habitat loss is an old story. But it’s not necessary to settle on one cause to the exclusion of all others. And when a species is gone, it usually is gone for good.

So if I may humbly suggest a resolution for 2012, please consider earmarking a portion of your charitable giving to conservation. Global initiatives (like the World Wildlife Federation) and local ones (like Nature Canada, the Sierra Club, or Ducks Unlimited) are all eager for your support.

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I am so sad that such beautiful and amazing creatures have become extinct in 2011, and that so many more are on the brink. I wish people would realise how important diversity is to habitats and our own survival - if species continue to disappear at the rate they are, not only will it impact the environment and ecosystem, but the effect causes a chain reaction that affects everything from crops to waterways to anything you can think of connected to human life.

I look at the adorable picture of the European mink and wonder what kind of disgusting bastards could kill them in such horribly torturous ways for their fur. Those massacring and those wearing the skins of these animals are extremely demented to think it's ok for an animal to be skinned alive or anally electrocuted so they can wear their skin. Don't we make horror movies with similar themes about serial killers? Doesn't everyone hate and detest these serial killers by the end of the movie who fictitiously torture the people less than animals are tortured in reality? How can we, with even the smallest iota of humanity, tolerate this in real life?

Mankinds greed with be the ruination of our planet. Humans (most) do not give a toss about animals or our environment, as long as they can watch so-called reality t.v. and stuff their faces with rubbish food they are happy. That says a lot for the human race thesedays. People can't find the money to take their pets to the vet or in some cases don't even fed their animals but look in their food cupboards and freezers etc and they will be filled with junk convenience food oh yeh they have the money to buy cigarettes and alcohol too! even though their pets maybe starving in the back yard.

The rhinos should be relocated to a secure environment and their horns removed. They are in greater threat with them than without them. Then the horns should be reduced to powder and sold on the market to further fund the protection of the animals. Also, a powder should be developed that is similar and should be produced and mixed with the original powder horn and sold on the black market to flood it and again fund the protection of these animals.

Alien with human skull in hand to companion-
"Taldeshar, what were these bipedal creatures that over-bred and poisoned themselves and this planet? We find their remains everywhere; yet none survived."
Response: " Who cares?; extinction is forever and they obviously did it to themselves."

I agree with JAMES C, your words are so true.,, HARTSON D, good on ya,... ALAEX i you are so right, more people shud do something to help animals, LYN B, your so right and good for u girl./The way things are going this Planet will be like the film that was entitled 'The Planet that time forgot'. i think it waz called that!! however, it sound like the right words for me tou use anyhow, becos thats what gonna happen and all the animals gonna b forgotten. and be downtrod on. so so sad and tearful..... I HATE EVIL GREEDY MAN.